DHS criticizes Minnesota over ICE agent assault prosecution

The Department of Homeland Security has accused Minnesota officials of staging a political stunt after state prosecutors pursued assault charges against an ICE agent involved in a traffic confrontation. The case centers on Gregory Morgan Jr., who is charged with two counts of seconddegree assault after authorities said he pointed a handgun at motorists while driving back from a federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities area on Feb. 5. Morgan’s attorneys and federal officials are trying to move the case to federal court, arguing that he was acting as a federal officer and may be protected under the Supremacy Clause. Prosecutors in Hennepin County dispute that claim, saying the alleged conduct was unrelated to his official duties and happened during a road rage incident on a Minnesota highway. The dispute has become part of a broader legal fight over when federal officers can be prosecuted by states, with both the Justice Department and local prosecutors now involved in the case.